Chapter 3

I pretended to break up the fight, and once they'd worn themselves out, I turned to the crowd, tears streaming down my face. "Hey, everyone, please help me out."

There were still plenty of warm-hearted folks around. We all lived in the same apartment, and back when the factory was still running, we were all coworkers.

The onlookers couldn't just stand by anymore, so they stepped in to pull everyone apart.

Amid the chaos, I stuck out my foot and tripped Michael. He suddenly went down hard, crashing to the floor.

When someone tried to catch him, I let out a fake gasp, shouldered them aside, and pretended to reach for Michael, but it was too late. He was already tumbling down the stairs.

As everyone gasped, Michael landed in a twisted heap, his leg snapping with a sickening crack.

Right then, my body gave out and I collapsed to the side.

The neighbors were all startled by the sudden turn of events.

"Looks like Michael's leg is broken! We need to get him to the hospital, now," someone shouted.

"Poor Laura. Who would've thought she'd get treated so badly at home? The Goodwin family sure knows how to act all nice while being nasty behind closed doors," another person muttered.

Even though I was lying there, pretending to be unconscious, I was all ears.

Nina and Michael always cared so much about their reputation. This was even more humiliating for them than death.

The apartment wasn't far from the hospital, so Michael and I were quickly taken there.

The doctor said I'd passed out from malnutrition and needed some sugar water and a bit of rest to recover.

But Michael had it much worse. The initial exam showed his lower right leg was broken, and he'd need surgery.

Since we were family and had come in together, they put us in the same hospital room.

Nina was way too busy to mess with me now. She never really had her own opinions and always followed whatever the men said.

I knew Nina would call Evan over, no surprise there. But I didn't see Grace coming along with him.

Evan said, "Mom, what's going on with you and Dad? You got home and already stirred up all this drama.

"I told you I've been swamped lately. Can't you guys not make things harder for me?"

He'd been running around for days, trying to find a place for Grace. He was already stressed out and on edge.

Nina, though, was all sweetness when it came to her son. "Don't blame me, son. It's all that bitch Laura's fault," she replied.

Then, as if she'd just remembered I was there, she yanked me off the bed and started wailing on me.

I pretended to wake up from the pain and shoved Nina away with all my strength.

I demanded, "Mom, what are you doing? Evan, are you seriously just going to stand there and let your mom push me around?"

I gave the Goodwin family my best disappointed look, pretending to be let down.

Evan shot back, "Babe, just let Mom blow off some steam. She won't really do anything to you. It's your fault anyway. Why didn't you go pick up Mom and Dad at the station?

"Come on, it's a couple of harsh words. You never used to be so sensitive."

Evan kept running his mouth.

Grace stood behind Evan, her eyes flashing with satisfaction.

When I saw her about to speak, I cut her off. I put on my best pitiful act. "Evan, why do I always have to put up with your parents and swallow all the crap?

"Why? I can't take it anymore, Evan. You guys can just live your own lives without me."

With that, I shoved Nina aside and walked out of the hospital room.

Evan started to say something behind me, but I hurried out, not giving them any chance.

Now that Michael's leg was broken, he'd definitely need someone to take care of him.

Nina was never the hardworking type, and Evan and Grace were way too busy apartment hunting to even bother with him.

I was going to sit back and enjoy the show as the Goodwin family went at each other's throats.

As soon as I walked out of the hospital, I hit up Gordon Cooper.

He told me he'd just gotten into town. I made my way straight to the address he sent me.

After I got this second chance, the first thing I did was contact Gordon.

He was an orphan, but my parents used to help him out a lot when they were still around.

Not long after my parents passed away, Gordon moved down south.

He struck it rich there and came back a few times. When he saw how badly things were going for me, he offered to bring me and Jason down south for a fresh start.

But back then, I still didn't realize what the Goodwin family was really like, so I turned him down.

Before he left, he handed me a fat stack of cash.

With that, plus the inheritance I got after my parents died, I actually had enough money to last me for years.

But in my previous life, Evan always said he was busy with business dinners and never brought a single dollar home.

And my in-laws were total cheapskates. They wouldn't cough up a dime.

After I had Jason, I quit my job early just to take care of him full-time, especially since he had a heart problem.

All the family's expenses were covered by the money my parents left me.

And the money Gordon gave me, Evan scammed it out of me, saying it was for some investment, but in the end, he handed every last dollar over to Grace.

Every time I thought about it, I wanted to kick myself for being so clueless in my previous life.

At this point, Gordon's business down south was making some progress.

Last year, he came back for a visit and left me his number, telling me to call him if I ever needed anything.